The Danger of Pride
by Thomson
Summary: Sokka is in mortal danger, but he won't accept Zuko's help. Will Zuko go against his better judgement, or leave his enemy to his fate? Will it be Zhao all over again?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's too cool to be owned! (Don't tell Bryan and Michael)

A/N: One-shot or maybe more, and canon pairings if any (mainly a friendship fic). It takes place during Book Two between Zuko Alone and The Chase. Please read and review! Enjoy…

The Avatar was close by, and Zuko didn't even know it. The disaster at the Earth Kingdom village had caused Zuko to ride away on his ostrich horse at top speed, and without looking back. Now he rode through the rocky terrain, not thinking, not planning where he would go or what he would do. For all he knew his Uncle was in Ba Sing Se by now. Gone to open the teashop he'd always wanted. _After all, his own nephew had deserted him,_ Zuko thought guiltily. He shook his head, as if to rid his head of confusion. He couldn't think like that. He had done what he had to do. His Uncle would understand. _He would understand._

Sokka was trapped. Only an hour ago he had decided to get some real meat. He had taken his machete and sharpened a stick into a hard spear, perfect for skewering some dinner. He ran off to hunt, telling the others it wouldn't take long, and he'd come back with a big juicy turkey pig to roast over the fire. _What a stupid idea! And I'm supposed to have the GOOD ideas!_ Sokka thought. Now he was trapped on a ledge on the cliff face, suspended high over dangerously sharp rocks. He had leaped at the animal he was hunting, a hen cat, and missed his prey. The bird flew just out of his reach, and Sokka was sent flying down the Cliffside, only to tumble on to the ledge. His ankle hurt…bad. It was problem broken, or maybe just sprained, but he couldn't hope to climb back up the cliff like this. He would have to wait for his friends to find him. He tried not to wonder how long it would take.

Zuko dismounted the ostrich horse, ready to set up camp for the night. He gathered sticks and set a fire. His stomach growled and Zuko realized it had been a long while since he'd eaten anything. The ex-prince got to his feet and strode through the brush and wooded surroundings, impatient with hunger. If he could catch an animal and cook it…or maybe find some no-poisonous berries… Zuko's pondering was broken by the sound of someone (yes it had to be human, he decided) yelling not far away. He could not make out words, and so moved towards the sound cautiously. He reached a cliff and slowly made his way to the edge to look over. He could now make out the sounds as cries of help that were coming from somewhere below.

As he reached the side and looked down, he nearly yelped with surprise, and watched in disbelief as someone he knew to be an enemy desperately yelled for his friends.

"Help! Somebody help me! Katara? Aang? Anybody!"

It was the watertribe boy. He had called for the others- was the avatar here too? The thought sent Zuko's mind reeling. _ Finally, _he thought_ things are beginning to work out_. The avatar! If he could just capture him, everything would go back to normal! He could return home, have his honor restored, and his father…His father. In all the excitement he had forgotten he was a fugitive now. His father would not just accept him back for capturing the avatar. Or would he? He could just imagine it now, being back in favor with the Firelord, having everything he had every wished for… _only if father will forgive me._ Zuko tried to assure himself that he would be welcomed back no matter what-he was still family-but there was still a nagging doubt in his mind. His father sent him away, why would he want him back now? Admiral Zhao's words flashed in his mind. _If he wanted you back he would have let you come home by now, Avatar or no avatar_.

Zuko tried to push away the thoughts and focus on the problem at hand. What of the avatar's friend? Should he leave him here so he wouldn't get in the way? Or have him lead him to their camp and then demand a prisoner exchange? From Zuko's vantage point at the top of the cliff, it didn't look like the boy was up to much walking, or anything really. There was a clear enough path up the Cliffside; he could have climbed up it by now, steep though it was. _He must be injured_. Zuko guessed. He still yelled to his friends, or anyone near enough to find him but silence was his answer. His voice grew hoarse. The boy sighed and leaned back, grimacing with pain.

He was loath to admit it, but Zuko actually felt sorry for the younger boy. He was hurt and alone, and Zuko couldn't help but feel as though they were in the same boat, firenation or watertribe. Zuko acted on impulse, as he often did, and began to step carefully down the steep slope towards the boy in need. Okay, so maybe he didn't have a plan. But he wasn't just going to leave him there, regardless of what would happen later on. As he approached the boy looked up and plastered a shocked expression on his face that quickly turned to anger.

"You! What are you doing here, trying to capture Aang again? Well you won't!" he cried, brandishing his spear at him and taking as stable of a battle stance as he could in his weakened state.

Zuko took a moment to respond. Now what? Did he really intend to help his enemy? Why should he when the boy would rejoice if he himself were in danger, and not lift a finger to help him. Zuko vaguely thought, _Maybe this was a mistake…_

Then suddenly, the earth shuddered under their feet, and a large crack appeared between the ledge and the cliff's face. It was breaking off. Sokka cried out as the ledge started to slide downwards.

Zuko didn't have time to think. He just made his decision, knowing that no matter who was on that ledge, he had to help…and fast.

"Let me help you," he said quickly. He reached out a hand towards the boy. Sokka drew back from him and said viciously,

"Why would accept your help of all people! After everything you've put us through? No way, I don't want it!"

The firebender drew back his hand as if he'd been burnt. The words and action dealt him a powerful blow. He felt a great weight in his stomach, and a lump rising in his throat. It was Admiral Zhao all over again.

The earth rumbled again and the rock slid downwards even more. Zuko locked eyes with the other boy, golden on blue, and said lowly but forcefully,

"Don't do this."

Sokka scowled at him, glaring coldly before turning his head swiftly and looking away. Anger welled up in Zuko and before he could stop it, he drew his hand away and turned to walk away. He yelled back at the watertribe boy,

"If you'd rather die than accept my help, then go ahead!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or life would be perfect.

A/N: Don't worry I didn't leave off there, that would be terrible! Just friendship, no slash. Please read and review.

Zuko hadn't taken three steps before he stopped dead. He already knew he couldn't do it. The earth was slipping under Sokka's feet, inch by inch, and there was nothing the other boy could do to save himself.

He couldn't deal with having anymore blood on his hands. One life had already been lost because of him. He wouldn't let even this proud, stupid, watertribe peasant die. Not while he could stop it.

Zuko raced back just as the ledge fell away, and with all his might pulled Sokka up to safety. The two fell back into the dust, breathing hard with fear that was slowly becoming relief. Sokka looked at the older boy in surprise. He stammered,

"You…you just…"

Zuko rolled his eyes and said ,

"I guess I'll take that as a thank you."

Sokka held up his finger as if to make a point and cried,

"But you hate me! You're always chasing us around and trying to kill us!"

"No. I only tried to capture the avatar, I never tried to kill any of you!"

"But what about when you stole Aang at the North Pole? And when you attacked Katara? And when you BURNED Kyoshi Island, how about that?" Sokka yelled. He was ranting now and seemed unable to stop. He ticked off the deeds on his fingers.

"You attacked my village, stole my sister's necklace, set pirates on us-"

"Okay! I know! Maybe I should have just let you fall!"

Sokka fell silent and his expression became serious.

"Why did you do it?" He asked quietly.

Zuko ran a hand through his hair and looked around, unsure. He felt more uncomfortable then usual. What was he still doing here? He owed the watertribe boy nothing. He should just take off. True, the other boy probably couldn't walk like this. It might be hours before his friends found him, and it was to dangerous on the cliff side to stay there. But what did Zuko care? _He's just some stupid water tribe boy,_ Zuko told himself_. _He looked back at the boy and realized he was waiting for an answer.

"I…I don't know." He said. He thought a moment, then continued. "When I was at the North Pole, I dueled Zhao during the battle. Then Zhao got caught in a big wave from one of the waterbenders and he couldn't get away. I reached out to save him but he pulled back. He chose to die rather then accept help from me."

A grim silence followed. Finally, Sokka tried to stand up, but staggered painfully because of his ankle. Zuko stood to and grabbed the boy's arm to steady him.

Sokka again seemed surprised, causing Zuko to lose the grip immediately and shuffle his feet awkwardly. Sokka picked up his machete and said,

"Well I'd better get back. If you even THINK about following me, I'll cut you to bits!" He said, half jokingly, and unsure whether he ought to really mean the threat. Zuko just shook his head and started to climb up the slope. Sokka watched him for a moment then called to him,

"Hey Zuko?"

He looked back at Sokka and raised his one eyebrow questioningly.

"Thanks for saving me."

The firebender gave a cautious half-smile that Sokka returned. Sokka stepped up and tried to climb the cliff side, unbalanced and wavering. Zuko once again reached out his

hand and pulled a grateful Sokka up to where he stood.

"Thanks…again."

"Don't mention it." Said Zuko. They walked in silence for awhile until Sokka said,

"So…you're not still going to try and capture Aang, right?"

Zuko hesitated. He didn't want to lie to him, but he couldn't tell him he would probably attack his best friend again. Zuko swallowed and said blandly,

"Well I…I have to…" He caught the look on Sokka's face and stopped. Why was this so hard? They knew he would do anything to capture the avatar…and he would, wouldn't he? He wasn't certain he would. He wasn't certain about anything anymore. He sighed.

"Can you make it back from here?" Sokka nodded and added,

"I think so." He waited a moment, watching Zuko carefully until the boy finally said,

"Next time. Just get going." Sokka turned and started to limp away. He called back over his shoulder,

"See you around."

Zuko turned too and started to make his way back to camp. He said under his breath.

'Yeah. See you around."

A/N: Should I keep going? Please review and let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar: The Last Airbender, then all my wildest dreams would have come true! Sigh… So yeah I don't own it.

A/N: Friendship, no slash. You know, the usual.

When Zuko finally got back to camp the fire was out. It didn't take too long to find some more wood and get it going again. Zuko fixed himself a small meal, but found he just wasn't hungry. He laid the food aside and leaned back, closing his eyes. He lit a small fire in the palm of his hand, and let the energy fill him up, then let it out with his breath. He tried to concentrate on breathing; he tried to let go of his thoughts and clear his mind. It was difficult. Too much had happened that day and he couldn't let it go.

How could he have helped one of the Avatar's friends? It was practically treason. If his father knew he'd done that…The firelord would think his son was weak, unable to dispose of an enemy. And to not even try and use the situation to his advantage, to try and get to the Avatar? To just let him go when he, Zuko, had the upper hand? It was unbelievable. Unforgivable. But a small voice in the back of his head said, _Uncle would be proud. _Knowing that, it was easier to believe what he had done was right. He didn't regret it, not exactly, but he could not help but question his actions.

It was getting late. Zuko's body was exhausted, but his mind still buzzed with thoughts. He eventually

made himself try and get some sleep. The last thought he had before he drifted into a deep and undisturbed slumber was this: _I saved him this time. I finally did something right._

Zuko woke late the next morning. The sun had long since risen; it seemed he had cut his ties with firenation tradition when he had cut ties with the fire nation itself. He didn't care anymore. He didn't belong anymore. He hadn't since he was banished, but it had taken him until the past few weeks to realize it.

Zuko walked a little ways, foraging, and wondering how long ago the Avatar and his friends had cleared out. He remembered now he hadn't seen the flying bison take off last night. That surprised him. He thought they would have known better than to stay the night when they knew he was camped so close. Weren't they afraid he would attack them? Maybe not, maybe they didn't see him as a threat when it was four against one. They had probably just left sometime that morning. The firebender knew he should regret letting them go, but somehow he didn't. He had given them a chance to escape. It was almost… honorable.

Then came a strange discovery. Zuko looked up and saw smoke rising from somewhere nearby. It was thick, black smoke, from a machine. A firenation machine.

Zuko turned and ran back towards his camp as quick as Azula's lightning. In moments he was packed and ready to run, ready to get out of there and to-well he would figure out that part later. All he wanted was to get as far away from anyone firenation as he could. He mounted the stolen ostrich horse.

Then suddenly he heard a scream, and then a loud roar from the direction of the smoke. While the scream could have been anyone, the roar could only belong to the Avatar's sky bison. Zuko's eyes widened with the realization. So they _were_ still here. But who could have found the Avatar out here? Unless…Could someone have tracked them? Someone _else _was after the Avatar now? _Not again _Zuko thought _I don't think I'll get away with the Blue Spirit a second time. _He turned the ostrich horse in the direction of the smoke and spurred him forward. He had to check it out, at least. He would figure out what to do when the time came. So maybe he didn't plan ahead, but he could _improvise. _He hoped that this time, it would be enough. _The last thing I need is to get captured._

_A/N: Okay, so this story is going to take a turn now and be a bit different, but it'll still feature Sokka/Zuko friendship. At least now its going somewhere, but I'd still really appreciate any ideas. Thanks for sticking with me on this. I didn't really care for this chapter myself but I'd like to know what you think of it._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. "I'm not worthy!" I scream in a crowded hallway (weird looks).

A/N: Okay! Well thanks so much for all the reviews and advice, I'm really glad you guys enjoy this-I'll try to live up to the standards! Regular stuff: No slash, friendship fic, canon pairings etc.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy…

Zuko left the ostrich horse a little ways from his destination and approached the scene on foot. At first, he was confused. The source of the smoke was gone. Now all that remained were a few burning trees and the remains of a camp amongst them. In the center of all this, Zuko saw the waterbender lying on the ground, awake but seemingly unable to move. Off to the side, the watertribe boy was standing, pinned against a tree by a series of small silver knives. Zuko thought they looked somehow familiar…

Just as the firebender began to look around for the avatar or his bison, the great furry beast appeared, descending from the sky with a groan, but carrying someone besides the young airbender. It was a little girl. Zuko had never seen her before, but she wore Earth Kingdom green and then rose a pillar from the ground up to the top of the bison, which she manipulated to help herself down. _So the Avatar has found himself an earthbending teacher. _Zuko thought _She's just a little girl. He'd be better off learning from a badger mole. _

But he was soon proven wrong. When the young earthbender reached the ground she ran to help her friends, first freeing the boy, then the two of them went to help his sister. Suddenly, she stopped and turned directly towards Zuko, and threw a torrent of rocks at him. It happened so fast, he had no time to get out of the way. The rock collided with him and pushed him down, securing him to the ground.

"Toph! What's going on?" The waterbender yelled from where she lay.

"There's someone there!" Zuko couldn't believe it. He was sure she hadn't seen him. None of them had. Yet somehow, she turned and fired the rock at him precisely, and in the blink of an eye. _She's stronger than she looks. _Zuko thought, his chest aching with the new weight thrown on it.

The two on their feet came running over to see. The watertribe boy stopped short when he saw him and jumped back in surprise.

"You again!"

"Get this off me!" Zuko grumbled. The little earthbender, Toph, he remembered she was called, screwed up her face in confusion and stared straight ahead with glassy eyes. _Blind. Oh… _Of course, now it made even less sense that she had known where he was. That didn't quite matter at the moment though. The blind girl said,

"Wait, who is this?"

"It's Zuko! You know, crown prince of the Firenation? Ring any bells?"

"Yikes Snoozles I only asked who it was. How was I supposed to know? It's not like I was the one he's been chasing around for months!" So she knew about all that. _Perfect _Zuko thought sarcastically _I've never even met her and she already hates my guts. _Then as an afterthought: _But I guess most people do…Like he said, crown prince of the Firenation…_

"Zuko!" It was the waterbender. She still lay paralyzed, but not far from them.

"What are you doing here?" the watertribe boy said angrily, and obviously confused.

"Isn't it obvious? He's here to finish us off! Like taking Aang away wasn't enough!" His sister's words came out choked with emotion. Zuko couldn't believe his ears.

"The Avatar's gone? Who took him?"

"Like you don't know! You told them where we were after what happened yesterday!" The boy growled. The one called Toph turned towards him, even more confused, and the other girl cried,

"What? Sokka, you mean you saw him yesterday? And you didn't warn us? Why did you let us stay here when you knew he was here, too?"

"Who took the Avatar?" Zuko yelled, desperate for information. "I know you think I had something to do with it, but I didn't!"

Sokka, whose name Zuko now knew, opened his mouth again to argue but Toph held up a hand to stop him.

"Sokka stop; he's telling the truth. He wasn't involved." Sokka seemed to relax a little at the words, but the water bender yelled,

"But how is that possible? He knew we were here, and those girls who attacked us must be friends of his!" Zuko thought wildly. _Girls? What girls?_

"Who are you talking about?"

"The three 'dangerous ladies' that attacked us in Omashu!" Sokka cried. Toph added, counting them on her fingers,

"The pokey-girl, the knife-thrower, and the scary one who shoots blue fire." Zuko's eyes bugged out at these last words. He said in barely a whisper,

"Azula."

It made sense. Azula was sent after the Avatar when her brother failed. _Always failing, _he thought _and now this. _Now she had captured the Avatar. He felt his heart sink. There would be no chance to reclaim his honor now; he would not be going home. Though some part of him that was growing stronger by the day said, _I would never have been allowed home anyway. Not with honor._

"What happened?"

"I was sitting on Appa, so I didn't feel the vibrations until they were right on top of us." The blind girl said ashamedly. Sokka picked up on this and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Toph." He said gently. He turned back to Zuko and said in a quiet voice, "They came in that huge machine. As soon as we heard it and saw the smoke, they started firing fireballs at us. There must have been some benders running it that helped, but we didn't really see them. The smoke was too thick, and we were to busy with the three girls."

"The really happy one jabbed Katara a few times and she couldn't move. That other girl, the glum one, she threw her knives and stuck Sokka to the tree." Zuko nodded even thought she couldn't see him. _Mai. She must have practiced a lot since I last saw her. I wonder if she's as pretty as I remember…_

The line of thoughts was broken when Toph continued.

"Then that crazy firebender went after Aang. He was doing fine until she knocked him off his feet. And…then they had him."

"Then freaky fire chick and her friends took Aang and took off in the machine." Sokka added.

"Yeah. I went on Appa and tried to stop them…but I couldn't." Toph finished.

Katara, who had regained the use of her limbs, staggered to her feet and wobbled over to the rest of them.

"We have to go after Aang. We can't wait any longer." She said.

"What about him?" Toph said, indicating Zuko. "We can't just leave him here."

" Well we can't let him go, he'll follow us!" Katara argued. Sokka looked at her directly and said,

"Katara, I think we should." She gave him an annoyed, you-have-two-seconds-to-explain-why-before-I-take-off look.

"He saved my life yesterday." Katara gaped and Toph shrugged and said,

"Well I don't know about you sweetness, but that's a good enough reason for me."

With a flick of her wrist she threw away the rock that had held Zuko down. He sat up and massaged his sore ribs.

"Fine." Katara said icily. "Just get out of here, and don't come near us again!"

Sokka and Toph followed her towards Appa, getting ready to mount for the rescue mission. Sokka looked back at Zuko for a minute and then walked away.

"Wait." They all turned and looked back at him. Zuko's heart raced, suddenly unsure of himself. It wasn't too late to walk away and not look back. He could keep running away from his destiny, his destiny that he had always claimed to his uncle to want as much as his honor and his father's love. He was afraid of it. Now was the choice to leave behind all the fear and reservations, and let his path find _him. He could live the destiny set before him._

"_Wait. I'm coming with you."_

_A/N: I hope this was okay. I wanted to show part of Zuko's transformation. He's not quite on their side yet, but he knows its time to move on from his life of chasing the Avatar, and figure out what his future holds for him. If you think of any way to clarify this, please let me know. Ideas are always appreciated. Thanks for reading this far!_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, I do not own in a house, I do not own it with a mouse, I do not own it on a train…

A/N: Regular, friendship fic with canon pairings. Hopefully I'll still be able to update the story regularly. I won't let it die. Thanks for sticking with it this far! Please read and review. Special reference for my good friend Plumalibre, and other Monty Python fans. Enjoy…

The friends stared at Zuko dumbly. Katara was the first to shake off the shock and exclaim,

"What makes you think we would let YOU come! You'd run away with Aang the minute we save him!"

Zuko shook his head vigorously and said,

"It's not like that anymore." He didn't want to spend his life chasing after the Avatar. He had already wasted three years in an attempt to please his father.

"Oh, then what is it like? That's all you care about! You would never help Aang unless there was something in it for you!" The waterbender yelled.

"I know…that's what I did the first time I saved Aang, I admit that." Zuko said in a small voice.

"Wait, you saved Aang? When?" Toph said. She turned to Katara and Sokka. "Why didn't you guys tell

me about this?"

"We didn't know." Sokka said, shrugging his shoulders. Katara scowled and said,

"What do you mean 'saved Aang'?"

Zuko sighed. He shouldn't have even brought this up. Now they definitely wouldn't trust him. Did he really care if they did? _Well,_ he reasoned _I need them to, that's all. _But, he realized, a little shocked, he cared. Just a little.

"It was just after my ship got caught in that bad storm. It had been a few days since I had last seen where your group was headed. Then, one night, I received word that Zhao had captured the Avatar. I couldn't believe it. I knew I had to stop Zhao from bringing him to the capital, or else it would all be over. My only chance was for the Avatar to escape…or be rescued."

"So you did it for your own selfish reasons?" Sokka said bluntly. Katara spat,

"If he did any of it at all! Is he even telling the truth?" They turned to Toph who just shrugged and said,

"Yeah, he's telling the truth. But I don't get it. Why did you want to set Aang free?"

"Well…I didn't, exactly. My plan was to steal him from Zhao and turn him in for myself. I wanted to be welcomed home again by my father, and that was the only way." They all glared daggers at him on Aang's behalf, furious he had tried to turn over their friend to the Firelord himself. Zuko swallowed and then went on.

"I infiltrated the fortress where he was being kept, in a mask to hide my identity. I freed the boy, and we were trying to sneak out when the alarm went out that he had escaped. We fought together; I used my swords since I had to keep my Firenation background a secret." He thought of his recent venture into the Earth Kingdom village, there he had tried to conceal himself, too. "We had just left through the doors when a Yu Yan archer shot an arrow. It hit me and knocked me out. I'm lucky I wasn't killed by it. The next thing I knew was lying in the woods with the Avatar sitting nearby. Then he ran off and that was it."

"So he saved your life?" Katara said, amazed, then it quickly turned to anger. "He saved you and you still tried to capture him?"

"Twice. He saved me twice."

The water tribe siblings exchanged looks, each remembering the time at the North Pole when Aang had refused to leave his captor to die out in the blizzard.

"I think I owe him one." Zuko said carefully. He saw the uncertainty in their faces. They hadn't expected this from him. But who would? No one expects their _enemy_ to try and make a case to accompany them on a rescue mission. It was strange, Zuko thought to himself, how little that word meant anymore. _Enemy…_

"_You can't come with us, Zuko…it's just not…the things you've done in the past…" Katara was unsure of what more to say. They couldn't let him come, could they? What if he tried to turn against them, to hurt Aang?_

"_I know you have a lot of reasons to say no…but I'm going regardless. I'm trying to change things for myself, and that starts here. I'm going after him, with or without you." He didn't know where the certainty behind his words came from. He didn't know why he had to go after the Avatar, if not to capture him. He just knew that he had to do it. As Uncle would say, the course of his life depended on this. He could feel it._

"_Alright."_

"_Sokka! But we-" Katara began. Sokka shook his head and said to Zuko._

"_You saved my life yesterday, so you can come along. I'm going to trust you not to do anything that will make me regret this. Consider us even."_

_Zuko nodded, a slight smile of success twitching at his lips. Toph said blatantly,_

"_We're wasting time, we should be saving twinkletoes!"_

"_Let's just go." Katara grumbled. She softened slightly as she climbed on Appa and whispered, "We're coming, Aang."_

_They all mounted Appa, Zuko freeing the ostrich horse since he could not bring it along. When he was settled in the saddle, Sokka called from his spot at the reins,_

"_Yip, yip!"_

_Then they were soaring._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, it's against my religion. Just kidding.

A/N: Usual, friendship fic with canon pairings. Also, sorry the last couple paragraphs of the last chapter were italicized-I forgot to turn it off! Anyway, I hope you like this next chapter. Please read and review!

Flying, Zuko was sure, was the most terrifying yet exhilarating thing he had ever experienced. The sky bison always seemed to understand what to do, and where to go. Zuko wondered if maybe he was anxious to see his master again. If firebenders were so connected to the dragons, then surely the airbender and his pet shared the same relationship.

Zuko clung onto the saddle tightly. Despite how freeing it was, it was still unsafe. None of the others seemed as careful, just uncomfortable. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. Zuko was unwelcome there. Even thought he was allowed along he was by no means someone they could trust; he was not their friend or even their ally. He was just someone traveling with them because of a blindly-followed sense of destiny.

They all sat as far from him as they could, all but for Toph, who didn't seem to mind. They flew in silence for awhile, until finally Sokka said,

"We need a plan."

"Isn't that kind of your area?" Toph chuckled. He pressed on.

"We need to know exactly how we're going to get to Aang when we catch up to them."

"How did they find you?" Zuko asked suddenly. Katara considered him for a minute before she said,

"I'm not really sure. You don't think they could have followed us all the way from Omashu?"

"Omashu?" Zuko said. He had certainly missed a lot while he was playing Earth Kingdom peasant.

"They couldn't have tracked you that far."

Tracking had never been Azula's strong suit. She was a powerful bender, and could manipulate anyone to her will, but when it came to endurance-she quickly changed tactics instead of being persistant. That was Zuko's strength. His only strength. When he knew what he wanted, nothing could stand in his way. He never gave up without a fight.

"Well it doesn't matter how they found us, how do we find them?" Sokka said, a little impatiently.

"There!" Katara called from the front of the saddle, pointing down towards the ground. A great deal of smoke was visible between the trees, and the machine's loud, clanking noise soon reached their ears.

"We'll have to fly around and head them off." Sokka said.

"Then what?" Zuko asked.

"I'm working on it." Sokka thought a few moments as he studied the plumes of smoke pulsating upwards.

"I think I have an idea."

A/N: Sorry about this chapter. It kind of sucks, I think. My computer is screwing up the paragraphs and spacing. I think the next chapter will be better, ideas are always appreciated though. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, even though its as fabulous as I am…

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like the new chapter, please R&R, you know the drill. Thanks for all the support!

Appa descended into the cover of the trees, a little ways northwest of where the machine had been traveling. According to Sokka's plan, they would first have Toph hold back the machine by earthbending rocks in front of the wheels. Then, the girls would hide until the soldiers came out to investigate the damage, and then corner them, keeping them busy outside. Meanwhile, Sokka and Zuko were to sneak past them and free Aang by stealth, then come and rescue the others on Appa. It was a risky plan, they all knew. Katara was hesitant to let Sokka go alone with Zuko, afraid he would turn in her brother the first chance he got. None of them seemed to understand. He had nothing to gain by helping the Firenation, not anymore.

But still, if rescuing Sokka had not been treason, this certainly was. With luck they would not even know he was there, on the enemy's side. But he began to think-who really was the enemy? Zuko shook his head as if to rid it of the thoughts. He couldn't afford to be unsure now. Though the idea of saving the Avatar-for anyone's benefit but his own-was just strange. He had hunted him for so long. He had wanted to capture the boy so he could go home, but now he wasn't even sure of that anymore. Without any clear purpose to guide him, Zuko followed Sokka into position. When the time came for action they would be ready. Zuko prayed to Agni for guidance. _Please help me know what to do. _When had things become so unclear? When had his life become so complicated? Well, things had always been complicated, since he was born he had been fighting for his right to live in this world. But he had never been this confused. Feeling his father's wrath once again would have been easier than facing himself, and in facing the fear that every decision he made was the wrong one. Yes, he would need guidance now.

They were in luck. When the machine was stopped, the firebenders came out, confused, looking for the problem. Already they had the upper hand-they had the element of surprise. Katara and Toph sent water and rock from opposite directions. They kept moving and kept out of sight, making it much harder for the fire benders to launch any accurate attacks on them. The fight continued; even severely outnumbered, they knew they could win.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Sokka snuck into the machine. They managed to get past the remaining guards easily, and soon they were making there way into the bowels of the great metal monster. They turned down corridor after corridor without seeing anyone.

"Where do you think they're keeping him?" Sokka whispered a they went.

"He's probably chained in a some kind of a closed-off cell, like when Zhao had him. They have to keep him from bending." Zuko said. He remembered it all too well. It was a lot like the last rescue mission, only this time, there was no mask to protect his identity. The Blue Spirit could not save him now.

They turned left and passed a series of bars: cells. They checked every one for Aang, but they were all empty. Except the last in the line. Sokka ran up to the bars and called softly to the form,

"Aang? Is that you?" Zuko already knew it wasn't. It was too big, too…familiar. It couldn't be…

The prisoner sat up and crawled over to the bars. Zuko's eyes widened with the conformation of who it was. The old, lined face stared back it him for a moment before erupting with joy.

"Zuko!"

"Uncle!" He ran to him and reached him the best he could through the bars. His uncle had tears leaking from his eyes, running down into his graying beard.

"Zuko, what are you doing here?" His voice had changed to concern.

"What are _you _doing here? You were captured? By _Azula_?" He asked, unbelieving. Iroh nodded.

"You're sister found me just after you left." There was no accusations in his voice, but Zuko still felt guilt weighing in his heart at the words.

"Wait, you didn't say freaky fire chick was your _sister_!"_ Sokka said, shocked. Iroh turned to the watertribe boy and said to his nephew,_

"_And who is this, Zuko?" Sokka looked like he was about to answer, but Zuko cut across him._

"_He's the Avatar's friend. Uncle, the Avatar's been captured."_

"_I know that. Azula is the type who likes to flaunt her victory."_

"_We came to rescue Aang. Do you know where he is?" Sokka asked._

"_No. But you cannot stay here, you must get away from here, Zuko. Azula is dangerous. More so than when you last saw her."_

"_Don't worry, Uncle. I'll get you out of there."_

"_Zuko, I think someone's coming!" Sokka cried. Sure enough, footsteps echoed around the corner. They were close, far too close. _

_Sokka made a snap decision. He grabbed Zuko by the arms and pushed him against the wall, holding his arms behind him._

"_What are you doing?" Zuko seethed, from where he had his face pressed up against the wall._

"_I'm sorry, Zuko. I have to save Aang. This is the only way no one gets hurt."_

_The footsteps were revealed to be four firebenders. They turned the corner and immediately took a fighting stance at the sight of the intruders. Sokka flipped Zuko around and pulled his boomerang from his sheath, pressing it to the Firenation boy's throat and facing the newcomers. _

"_Don't come any closer. I demand a hostage exchange. The Avatar for the crown prince of your nation."_

_The full realization of what was happening hit Zuko hard. He had expected to not be trusted, but something like this…he didn't think that Sokka would be the one to sell him out. Sure, he had his reasons for it, good reasons by anyone's standards. But it still hurt._

_The fire benders conversed in low tones and then said,_

"_Come with us, the Princess will decide."_

_Zuko glanced up at Sokka, and saw a set look of determination on his face. The Firenation boy hung his head, hopeless. Now he was trapped._


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. But if I could…

A/N: Hey there! Sorry I took down chapter 7 for a little bit, I had to fix a few minor typos that were bugging me. But that's back up and here is this chapter, so not to worry! Regular friendship /adventure fic with canon pairings and fun, fun, fun! It might get darker so I think I might up the rating. Thanks for coming with me on this. Please read and review.

The Firenation soldiers forced the boys down another hallway and into a large room at the heart of the machine. At the end was a makeshift throne, with lower chairs surrounding it, and in the throne sat the Princess. Azula's lips curled into a grotesque smirk at the sight of the them. She gestured to the soldiers, who pushed Zuko and Sokka down to their knees in a bow before her.

"Hello Zuzu. Did you miss me?"

_Zuzu_? It would have made Sokka laugh if not for the situation. Zuko glared at her and growled,

"Stop it Azula. What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm following father's orders, Zuko. What do you think father will say when I present you and our pathetic uncle to him? How do think it will feel when father punishes you in front of everyone…again?"

Zuko cried out angrily and tried to lunge at Azula, but the guards held him back. Sokka was unsure. The whole situation was not playing out as he thought it would. What was she talking about? What did she mean about punishing him? She _was_ his _sister, _after all. They were family.

"And who is this?" Azula asked smugly. "Oh yes, the Avatar's stupid little friend. You can't even bend, can you?" She taunted.

"Hey!" Sokka cried in protest. "The only reason I'm here is for a hostage exchange: Zuko for the Avatar." Even as he said it he knew it wasn't going to work. Not anymore.

"Like I'd give up the Avatar for my failure of a brother." She said slyly. Sokka stifled a gasp and looked at Zuko. Her words didn't seem to faze him, he kept glaring, but Sokka could see a flicker of pain in his eyes.

"And in case you can't see, Zuko isn't your hostage. You're both _my _prisoners, now." She said. He figured as much. Again, Zuko didn't look surprised, but he caught Sokka's eye and gave him a nasty look. His plan had backfired on them _both._

"But what I want to know, is what dear Zuzu is doing here in the first place. Did you think you would be forgiven, if you came back? That maybe you'd be allowed to come home?" She advanced on him until she stood right before him.

Sokka was not only confused, but conflicted. He couldn't help but feel bad for Zuko. He couldn't go home? He had thought he would be valuable as the crown prince and son of the Firelord. But it seemed his sister couldn't care less for him. It made him wonder about Zuko's father…

Sokka knew what he needed to do. He owed Zuko at least this much. He said,

"I caught him on the way here. After the Avatar was taken I forced Zuko to come here as a hostage."

She rounded on him, fury and madness in her eyes and blue fire emerging from her palms. She yelled,

"I didn't ask you!" She calmed a bit and returned to her mocking tone, "But now that you say that…"

_Oh no_, Sokka thought. Was he always only going to make things worse?

"You seem pretty friendly with my Zuzu." She turned back to her brother. "Have you completely turned your back on the Firenation? Are you as treacherous as our no-good uncle?"

Zuko remained silent, choosing to stare her down.

"You're not even going to defend yourself? Well then, you just answered my question."

"He didn't-" Sokka began, feeling helpless. But Zuko lashed out at her with his breath of fire. She swept aside at the last moment; it narrowly missed her.

"So you want to play with fire, Zuko? I thought you would know better." She smiled cruelly.

Azula's hands ignited and she brought one down across his face, slapping him. His face twisted in pain, but he bit back a cry. He would not let her get the best of him.

"Tell me, peasant, have you ever heard of an Agni Kai?"

Sokka saw Zuko's eyes blaze with what might have been disbelief-or fear.

"No." Zuko whispered. Azula heard him and cackled gleefully.

"Oh don't worry Zuko, you won't have to fight one…yet. But the Firelord has a passion for…reasserting old punishments…" She let the words hang in the air. Zuko swallowed, visibly troubled. Sokka had almost no idea what they were talking about, but it didn't matter. What mattered was getting Aang and getting out of here. With luck, Katara and Toph were out there right now trying to reach them.

"You don't have a chance." She said softly, maliciously. "Not once he knows you're a traitor…"

"He's not! I mean, he's not on our side, so why don't you just give it up?" Sokka yelled.

"If he's not on your side, then why are you defending him? After everything he's done, you think he deserves it? But we'll find out for certain. You'll tell me before too long." She ordered her soldiers,

"Bring in the others."

A moment later they returned accompanied by Mai and Ty Lee who were clutching two people Sokka desperately wished had not been captured: Toph and Katara.

"Let us go!" Katara yelled.

"Oh I don't think so." said Azula. "First, I can't have you trying to set free your little friend the Avatar. And second," She moved until there was only inches between her and Katara. She smiled sweetly. "I know you'll help me find out what my brother's really been up to."

"Your brother?" Toph asked. "You mean…Zuko?" She said, putting it together.

"Yes." The Firenation boy said sullenly. He hung his head. Azula went to him and grabbed his chin, forcing it up so he looked at her.

"Oh now Zuko, don't sound so unhappy about it." He turned away from her roughly. Azula smirked. Mai had a rare show of emotion cross her face, but it quickly disappeared. Azula said,

"We have time enough before we reach the capital. There's no rush. Besides, containment ought to loosen your tongues. Lock them up."

The friends were moved from the room, only Sokka looking back. He saw Zuko get pulled to his feet and marched away. Just as they turned the corner he heard Azula say,

"Look at it this way brother, you're finally going home." Then she cackled horribly.

Soon, the bars of a cell slid closed and locked behind Sokka. Even with those he cared about around him, he still felt heartache. Not only for Aang, but for Zuko. The guilt, on top of the worry, was almost too much for him to bear. _What have I done?_

_A/N: Okay, sorry this made the jump to Sokka's point of view, I'm thinking it's probably going to alternate depending on what fits the best. I don't know if this was any good, please review. Also, I will get into Sokka's motives in the next chapter, and then I'm planning some Zuko/Iroh family stuff. So we'll see how it goes._


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I have to settle for watching Antiques Road Show while trying to brainstorm fanfic ideas…so yeah.

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback I've received, it really means a lot. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Regular stuff: friendship fic, canon pairings, etc. Please read and review…

Sokka sat on the cold, hard metal floor of the cell. Katara sat curled up against him, not speaking but rubbing her eyes now and then. Sokka suspected she was crying for Aang, but didn't want him to see. Toph lay with her head in Katara's lap, trying to get some sleep; anything would do to pass the time.

The watertribe boy was too preoccupied with his thoughts to be able to sleep. Why did he always have to make things worse with his so called "brilliant plans". The others praised him as the idea guy, but he was starting to think he wasn't all that. Twice in the past day he had done something stupid that got him-and others- into a bad situation. _Weird_ he thought, _Zuko was there both times_. But it wasn't just weird, it was bad. The first time, Zuko had gotten him out of trouble, only to have Sokka return the favor by turning in the fire bender. Some favor. Sure they had called it even earlier that morning, but Sokka had still secretly thought it was not enough just to allow him along. Then he had the chance to help him and he hadn't. Now, who knew what would happen to Zuko.

He had meant well, he really had. He thought it would work at first, that he could exchange the firebender for his friend. After all, it was the _prince_, the Firelord's _son._ Though neither Azula or Zuko seemed to feel much of a bond. And what would that mean for Zuko? He had expected her to try and help her brother; Sokka knew he would give his life for Katara. He looked over at her, where she leaned against him. She depended on him. And he needed her too. Who did the Firenation siblings have if not each other?

But Azula didn't just 'not care' about Zuko. She wanted to hurt him. From her cruel words to her harsh fire. Sokka couldn't have foreseen that. And now they were all paying the price.

_Maybe he's not _all_ bad. _Sokka thought. The thought alone surprised him. 'This is Zuko we're talking about'. That's what he would have told anyone else who had said that. But the Zuko who had chased them around the world, and done countless other bad things, did not seem to be the same one who had saved Sokka's life. Or who had come with them to rescue Aang. Or whose eyes filled with pain at the thought that his sister really _didn't care about him. _

_Zuko had known what would happen, even before Sokka did. Sokka knew the boy now had every reason to hate him. If they ever made it out of here, it would be without Zuko's help, though before it might have been with it. Maybe Zuko would try and hunt them again. He wouldn't give them a chance to escape like he had last time. Sokka had ruined any understanding they had had with Zuko. Any…friendship. And that hurt Sokka. Just a little bit._

_A/N: Sorry this chapter is super-short, but I didn't really want have the next part in the same chapter. Thanks, please review. Next part coming soon._


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Nay, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, mayhaps or perchance someday…

A/N: Okay! Sorry its been so long between chapters, life is catching up with me! The regular stuff: canon pairings, friendship fic etc…Please read and review! Enjoy…

Zuko was brought to his cell, and he saw a small glimmer of light when his eyes met those of a familiar round face. He was shackled down beside his Uncle, who, as soon as the soldiers were gone, pulled him into a bone-breaking hug. When his Uncle released him, the old man said sadly,

"Zuko, I'm so sorry. I wish you had not been caught."

"No, Uncle. I'm sorry. I should never have abandoned you…I just didn't know what I wanted. I was so lost." His voice broke on the words, and his uncle placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You had to figure it out for yourself. I understand that, my nephew."

"But I haven't figured anything out! I'm more confused than I've ever been!" Tears trickled from his eyes as he spoke. "For the past three years all I wanted was to capture the Avatar and return home to my father, but I'm not even sure of that anymore!" His uncle said quietly,

"You have changed a great deal in the past few months. And I believe it is for the better."

"But I don't have a purpose! I don't know who I am, or what I want, or…anything!"

"But you know what you do not want. To continue on your previous path would be a waste, Zuko; you know this. I think it is time you decide what matters the most to _you, _not to your father."

Zuko dried his eyes on his sleeve and looked at the floor.

"I helped the Avatar's friends." His uncle nodded and said,

"Zuko, there is something I must tell you. There is reason for you to be confused. What do you know of your great grandfather?"

Zuko looked puzzled at the question but he replied,

"Sozin died an old man, after a powerful reign. He destroyed the Airbenders. He began the hunting of the dragons. Of course, he began the whole war. But what does this have to do-"

"Your other great grandfather, Zuko. On your mother's side." Zuko looked confused so he continued.

"He was best friends with Sozin. That is, until he tried to stop him from attacking the world."

"Stop him from attacking-?"

"He was Avatar Roku." A look of comprehension dawned on the boy's face. "You see, you have reason to be conflicted. You have both light and dark inside you, the power to do good…but also bad. Until recently I was afraid you were headed down the darker path, forever. But I know now that you will do what's right. I believe in you, Zuko. You can restore the Firenation, you alone."

"But my father-"

"Will never be a real father to you. I do not want you to keep waiting for him, Zuko. He will never change. And you should never change for him."

Zuko let out a long sigh.

"You're right. Uncle, you have always been more of a father to me. But it took me all this time to finally see it. You have never lead me wrong. I will not betray my nation…but if I _can save it…"_

"_You must make a choice. You are at the crossroads of your destiny. Now, which path will you take?"_

_A/N: Ooh! Cliffhanger! I have much more, I promise, I just really liked the idea of ending a chapter with that! Let me know what you think._


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. But I AM watching it right now!

A/N: I'm sorry it's been taking so long! Here we go again: friendship fic, canon pairings, etc. I am SO sorry about the ridiculous italicizing going on in my stories; my word processor is the spawn of Satan! Whoa, okay anyways, I hope you enjoy. Also, another small Monty Python reference in this chapter, let me know if you find it. Please read and review!

The footsteps of the Firenation guard echoed down the hallway, loud enough for Zuko to hear as they came closer. He exchanged a look with his Uncle, who nodded silently. Zuko moved the cell bars, now free of the chains after having melted them. The guard appeared before him, strutting lazily and smirking at the prisoners.

"You comfortable in there?" The guard asked sarcastically. Zuko smirked right back, his eyes flashing, and replied smartly,

"Why don't you come in here and find out. I could take you with both hands tied behind my back."

The guard seethed with rage. He reached through the bars and pulled Zuko towards him until the man's breath was hot on Zuko's face.

"You dare speak to me like that, you traitor! You and your uncle are nothing but an embarrassment to the Firenation!"

"What's going on here?" Came a cold, sharp voice. Azula had appeared. Zuko thought furiously. Now he had to change his plan. But it could still work.

Azula waved the guard away, and he quickly backed off, leaving the firebenders. Azula strode to the cell bars and said with mock sweetness,

"Well, brother. You must have had plenty of time to think about your failure whilst in here."

Zuko did his best to remain calm, and hide away any emotion when she said,

"Let's face it, Zuko. Father loves me, and could care less about you. I'll always be better than you."

His only chance was to beat her at her own game. He had to "fight fire with fire", ironically enough.

"But you'll never be perfect. Will you, Azula?" He didn't want to be cruel. But he had to be.

Azula's eye twitched dangerously. He'd hit the mark. Then she shrugged it off and snapped back,

"Don't change the subject, Zuko." He quickly jumped in again,

"Or are you afraid to admit that?" He didn't want to hurt her. He wanted to make her angry, so cross she would make a mistake. He needed lightening.

***Flashback-Earlier that day, in the cell***

_Zuko could not learn to bend lightening. Not yet. Iroh had decided it for him. He said,_

"_Zuko, you are conflicted inside. You will not be able to bend lightening until you are at peace with yourself."_

"_But Uncle," Zuko protested, "How can I ever beat Azula if I can't even stop her lightening?"_

"_Ah, but you can, my nephew. I developed a technique some time ago, by studying the forms of waterbenders. I can teach you to redirect lightening."_

***End Flashback***

A few hours had hardly been enough to master the form. To redirect lightening he knew he would need practice. But there was no time for practice. His uncle had flat out refused to shoot lightening at his nephew, and for good reason. He had said there would be to high of a risk; he could not bear to risk Zuko getting anymore hurt on his behalf. Then the fact that the lightening could easily rebound in the small cell…No, Zuko would just have to hope that when the time came, luck would be enough.

Azula's fists clenched, her lip wavered. She just needed one more push…

"You're a monster. They're all afraid of you. Your friends, your soldiers, even your own mother,"

That did it. Azula shrieked in anger and plunged a shaking hand towards Zuko, blue lightening emerging from it and hurtling at him. Towards his heart. In a fit of rage, she fired to kill.

"Zuko!" His uncle cried out, jumping to his feet at the sight of the lightening. He still didn't realize this had been Zuko's plan all along. He shouldn't have let him taunt her like that, as he now thought. He should have realized this would happen. He moved to shield the boy, but he was not quick enough. But Zuko was ready.

As the lightening surged towards him, Zuko caught with two fingers and felt it course through his body. His left arm, his stomach, his right arm. Just as the lightening was about to leave his fingers, Zuko pointed towards the cell door, towards the lock. The lightening came streaking forth from his fingertips and shattered the cell door. Then, several things happened at once.

For one, Zuko had just about felt the last of the lightening leave his body, when suddenly, all the power he had felt vanished and was replaced by a searing pain in his arm. Not all the lightening had gotten out again. He clutched his arm and clenched his teeth against the burn; he couldn't stop now. Just then, Iroh reached the boy, and led him quickly out the door, running to escape the crazed Firenation princess.

Azula had stood shocked, eyes widened, but she quickly recovered herself and chased after them, shooting blue flames without control. She called the guards to her, and soon they too followed.

Iroh turned quickly and shot a blast of lightening to the side of the hall, exploding a pipe on the wall. The force sent Azula and most of the soldiers sprawling, and the two prisoners were able to dodge away in the confusion.

"Nephew, are you alright?" Iroh asked worriedly, gripping Zuko's good arm in concern as he pulled him along. Zuko gritted his teeth and nodded. He managed to say,

"What about the Avatar and his friends?" Iroh looked at him, serious.

"_You must decide that, Zuko."_

_Zuko took a deep breath._

_The door of Sokka's cell was wrenched open with a crash. The three inside looked up in utter surprise to see Zuko and Iroh standing over them._

"_Zuko?" Sokka cried, unbelieving. The firebender reached his hand out to him a second time._

"_Come on."_

_A/N: I hope this was okay, I kind of struggled with writing Zuko's choice towards the end of this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think, and what you would like to see in the next few chapters._


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender? Uh oh. Mark and Brian aren't going to be happy…

A/N: Hey folks! Funny, I'm actually watching The Storm as I write this! Whoo-hoo back stories! Well, anyway…Regular stuff: Friendship fic, canon pairings, we'll see where all this goes. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Read and review and receive a virtual thumbs up and whacked out smiley face! Thanks and enjoy…

Sokka gawked at the Firenation boy.

"You…wait…what?" Sokka sputtered. Zuko rolled his eyes and shifted his weight; Sokka noticed that he clutched his right arm as if pained by it. The firebender said impatiently,

"Come. Now. Or do you want to stay in the jail cell?"

The three friends got to their feet and Sokka said, still confused,

"Why are you doing this? If it's to get to Aang-"

"It's not." Zuko interrupted. "Look, I know I've done some really awful things in the past. I know you have no reason to trust me and that you probably hate me for what I did to you. But-"

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt but there's about twenty of Princess nut job's soldiers coming this way right now!" Toph said. Zuko's face screwed up in confusion.

"How do you-?"

"Long story!" She cut in. "Let's go!"

They raced from the cell, and the group turned a sharp corner into the next hallway. The four guards stationed there were taken completely off guard. Zuko and Iroh ran at the head of the group and shot burst after burst of fire at the soldiers, knocking them all down. After firing the last burst, Zuko staggered and cried out; he knew he had made a bad move firebending after being injured.

Toph reached the heavily bolted door first, and said determinedly,

"Stand back!" They followed her order. She summoned all of her strength and planted both palms firmly on the door. She grounded them into the metal, grunting with effort as she began to slid the metal apart from a seam at the middle.

"Is she…metalbending?" Katara said, awed. Toph pushed with all her might and the door cracked down the center. Invigorated by her victory, she pulled the remaining metal open in one solid move.

"That was incredible!" Sokka cried.

Suddenly, a stream of soldiers appeared around the corners heading for them.

"We must hurry! Quick, rescue your friend, I'll hold them off!" Iroh called. The friends heeded him and hastened through the opening in the door. All but Zuko, who hesitated and then said to his uncle,

"No. I'll fight with you."

"No! Go with the others, Zuko. You cannot fight in that state!"

"But-" Zuko began. His uncle quelled him into silence with a look: he had to go. Zuko turned without another word and followed through the crack in the wall.

Inside, Zuko saw the Avatar, bound like he was the first time Zuko had gone to rescue the boy, in chains with his friends gathered around him. Sokka hacked at the chains with his machete until Katara pushed him out of the way to slice through the chains with her water whip. Aang fell forward, weak from the chains he had been held in. Zuko ran forward and caught him just as the others reached out to do so. They looked at him oddly and Zuko said seriously,

"I'll take him. He can't walk, and I won't be of much help without my bending."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Said Katara, concerned. He gestured to the burn at his fingers that was quickly spreading up his arm. At their disgusted and horrified expressions, Zuko quickly looked away and hauled the barely conscious Aang onto his back.

Then came a loud explosion from the hallway. All heads turned towards the sound and the teenagers rushed back to the hall. Zuko gasped when he saw his uncle sprawled on the ground surrounded by guards.

"No!" He yelled. He set Aang in the ground and ran towards the fray, fire building in his hands. But then a hand on his shoulder pulled him back. It was Sokka.

"Zuko, come on. We can't stop now!" Zuko shrugged him off.

"I'm not leaving without him!"

Then suddenly, Lightening came shooting at them, just missing Zuko and exploding in front of him. The two were thrown back towards the others at the end of the hallway. It was a dead end, and Azula had arrived.

"I have an idea!" Katara cried. She worked up a strong, sharp water whip and slashed it repeatedly against the side of the machine. She looked at Zuko when she saw it was not working quick enough.

"Can you melt this or something?" Azula's lightening blasts were getting closer and more exact. Zuko decided it was better than nothing. He could at least try.

He pressed his hands against the metal and bended with all his might. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Bending with a damaged hand was agonizing. But a few water whips later, the side was weak enough that he sent one last blast of fire at the metal and it collapsed, revealing fading daylight.

"Mai! Ty Lee! After them!" Azula shrieked.

Sokka pulled out his bison whistle and blew on it frantically. Just in the nick of time, Appa sailed down to them and landed with a thud. The company hurriedly saddled up and took off into the sky. Azula's blasts of lightening and curses on her brother faded as they climbed in altitude.

"Now what?" Toph said, blatantly. Sokka shrugged and Katara said,

"We find somewhere safe."

Zuko could have sworn he saw her give him an uneasy glance as she spoke.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Don't tempt me.

A/N: Okay! So we've reached the point where I'm really not sure where this is going or how much longer it will go on. So…ideas are really appreciated. On a random note, I dreamed of Avatar the other night and I may write a fanfic based on the dream. Thanks for sticking with this, and as always, please read and review!

Appa was up in the air as soon as Sokka had exclaimed "Yip yip!". Azula and her firebenders continued to shoot blasts at them (that were narrowly avoided) until they were out of sight. The Gaang decided the best idea was to hide out in the wilderness, far from where anyone of the Firenation could get to them. They traveled for awhile until Katara insisted that they stop so that she could treat Aang's injuries.

"Land, sweet land!" Toph exclaimed as they touched the ground and she flung herself down onto the earth.

"Sokka, you and Toph set up camp while I take care of Aang." Katara said, not sparing more than a glance at the firebender. Zuko looked around as they all went to work, then asked uncomfortably,

"Well, umm…What should I do?" They all looked at him awkwardly. Sokka finally said,

"Were you…well…planning to stay?"

Zuko's cheeks reddened brilliantly. Of course they would not allow him to join. Not after all he had done. It was stupid to even consider that they-

"Well where else is going to go?" Toph broke his thoughts with her exclamation. He felt immensely grateful for what she said. "Besides he helped us get out of there."

"I don't know," Katara jumped in, "I don't think that letting him stay here is such a good idea."

Zuko waited anxiously as they decided his fate.

"Katara, maybe we should give him a shot. I mean, he's helped us more than once today."

"You don't owe me anything," Zuko said quickly. Katara piped up,

"That's right we don't! After everything you did to us-"

"I know. And I'm sorry. For everything. I tried to tell you before: I've changed. Things have been hard these past few years, and I didn't understand what I really wanted. But now I know. All I want is to play my part in ending this war." He added quietly, "It's my destiny."

Toph said in a low voice,

"He's telling the truth." Zuko nodded gently to confirm it to them. Then he waited for their judgment.

"Okay." Sokka said finally. He rubbed his neck uncomfortably and turned to his sister who sighed.

"You can stay for now. But when Aang wakes up it's up to him." Zuko nodded slowly. He said,

"So…"

"Here," Katara spoke up, "You can help me with Aang."

The others went about setting up the camp while they worked. Katara worked the water through Aang's aching body. He flickered in and out of consciousness for awhile, clearly in pain. Zuko felt for him. He too was feeling weaker and weaker, like the fire of Azula's lightening was spreading up his arm and into his chest.

"Zuko!" Katara said, snapping him out of his daze.

"What?"

"Are you okay?" Zuko nodded carefully, trying to stop his head from spinning. "Why don't you go help Sokka." Katara, a little nervously. Zuko stood up and began to walk, feeling unbalanced. Something was definitely wrong with him.

Zuko didn't make it more than a few steps before he saw black spots in his vision and was falling, falling, falling…

The last thing he heard was Katara yell his name and Sokka curse as he went down.

A/N: Sorry it's so short this time!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Don't judge me! (Sorry).

A/N: Hey! Sorry it's been such a long time since I last updated; things have been really intense and crazy for me lately. Anyway, thank for all the reviews and ideas for they are very appreciated and I may use some of them. As always, please read and review. Enjoy…

Zuko opened his eyes to see a dark night sky above him. How long had he been asleep? He sat up slowly, clutching at his head. Zuko looked around and quickly realized he was alone; the avatar's friends were nowhere to be found. Not just that, but he was not where he had passed out either. He found he was in a clearing surrounded by trees. A gentle breeze came by and ruffled through his hair. Zuko stood and listened. There was a faint sound coming from past the trees. It sounded as though someone was calling his name.

"Zuko…Zuko…"

"Who's there?" Zuko called. The whole thing was disorienting and made him very nervous. He tried not to let it show in his voice.

"Zuko…Come towards the light…Come, Zuko…" The voice whispered. Zuko glanced around, but saw no light.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Zuko couldn't help but feel more and more scared. What was going on? Where was he? And why couldn't he remember how he had gotten there?

"We must speak, Zuko…Come to the light…Come…"

Suddenly, Zuko saw a growing light coming from the far right between the trees. He could feel its heat within him, the growing of his inner flame. It was almost…soothing. He did not feel as afraid. He walked towards it to the words of the whispering voice.

"Come to the light…"

As he got closer, he could see a form within the light, a robed figure with hair pulled into a topknot.

"Zuko…you are a son of fire…son of Agni…like myself."

"Who are you?" Zuko said again, softer, with reverence and awe.

"I am Roku, the avatar who came before Aang, the airbender. And I am here to guide you."

Zuko fell to his knees and kowtowed before the spirit. Roku spoke,

"You may rise, my son. I have much to tell you and little time."

"But how are you here?" Zuko questioned.

"You have fallen into the spirit world, Zuko. You may feel fine now, but in the physical world you are gravely ill. The Princess's lightening has struck you a mortal wound. You must return quickly or risk not returning at all."

Zuko swallowed hard and nodded.

"But first I must tell you why I have sought you out, for it was not just to give that warning. Zuko, Aang needs your help if he is to defeat the Firelord before the comet arrives. He has yet to learn fire bending, and you can teach him that."

"But…but I'm not a master, I could never train the avatar…and he would never accept me as his teacher." Zuko sputtered.

"Do not doubt yourself; take strength, for not just the avatar needs you but the whole world. Your destiny lays much before you. Can you see it? Will you trust it?" Roku stared hard into the prince's eyes as he said this. Zuko took a deep breath and said,

"Yes. It will be an honor to train the avatar in fire bending."

"Good." Roku said, now satisfied. He added as an afterthought, "Agni has granted you great courage, young man." He smiled warmly at Zuko.

"Now you must leave here. Find your way back to the physical world. Help will find you if need be."

Zuko bowed low to the spirit and said,

"Thank you for all you have taught me." Roku nodded his return. Zuko turned to go, but stopped and turned back to Roku once more. He said,

"So if this is the spirit world…can I see Lu Ten again?" His voice grew faint with emotion. Roku lowered his eyes and gave him a sad sort of smile.

"Someday. When you are ready to stay for good." Zuko nodded and walked away in deep thought with a shadow a sadness across the unscarred half of his face. Roku said to his retreating form,

"Good luck my great grandson, good luck."

A/N: Sorry this was so short but I really wanted it to break apart from the next chapter. So- is Zuko trapped in the Spirit World? Will he survive in the physical world? Can I update my stories a little quicker? Find out next time! Oh and please do me the honor of reviewing, thanks.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. In fact I have only a box and a sense of humor to my name.

A/N: Thanks again to all who have reviewed; it really means a lot to me. I would like to give a shout out to all of you and mention the reviewers/story favoriters/ story alerters each chapter from now on:

Yurie-chan: I love your name, it reminds me of a friend of mine.

ArrayePL: Thanks for sticking with it so long.

PlumaLibre: I hope you keep reading- I'll put in a reference for you sometime!

Tosharino: Cool ideas, I've used a few and I appreciate them a lot!

Gosia: I love Zuko&Sokka friendship fics too.

new moongirl: Like the Shakespearean speech.

Invisible Firebender: I think you're my most avid reader, so you win a free fanfic request- give me an idea and I'll try and right (just please not romance). So congratulations!

Anon: That review made me laugh out loud. Eloquent.

sokkantylee: I really enjoyed your reviews imparticular.

Dragonmasterzutara9856: Sune…nice J

Darth Sanctus: Well, somewhat the opposite.

Abandon-Morality: Nice idea, I hope you keep reading.

Mkitkat: Really great ideas that I will try to incorporate. And yes, I will update faster if I get more reviews!

sara: Thanks!

Also, thanks to those who anonymously reviewed, I appreciate those a lot too! Please, if you have any ideas for me, let me know! So without further ado, let us dive into the next chapter! Please read and review and hopefully enjoy!

Zuko clambered through the spirit world in confusion. He had no idea how to get back, and he was running out of time. Couldn't Roku have been a little more specific if his life, not to mention the avatar's training, was on the line? He speeded up, passing trees that now grew denser and leaping over a brook in his path. Maybe it was just the trees surrounding him, but everything seemed to be growing darker. He broke into a run, trying to flee from whatever unwelcome force was closing in on him. He turned sharply.

Smack! Zuko fell back with a cry. He had run into something hard and rebounded onto the ground. Then he heard a similar pained groan.

"Ouch! What was that?" a familiar voice complained. Zuko couldn't help but smile when the boy came into to focus.

"Avatar?" Aang shook his head to expel the daze from the collision. He squinted at Zuko in the gloomy light.

"Zuko?" The firebender got to his feet, but at the same moment, Aang quickly fell into a fighting stance.

"Get back! What do you think your doing here? Tracking me down again?" He said fiercely.

"No, no you don't understand-"

"You just won't give up, will you? You even followed me to the spirit world!"

"Please listen to me. We don't have much time. In the physical world I'm with you and your friends. I helped them save you from Azula, but I caught some of her lightening when I was trying to redirect it. I didn't realize it was that bad, but I must have blacked out and I was sent here. Then Roku came and found me and told me I was going to die in the physical world in less I got back right away. So-"

"Wait a minute, you talked to Roku? When? And if any of this is even true, why didn't he tell me?"

Zuko couldn't do more than shrug his shoulders in frustration.

"Why should I believe you then?" Said Aang more mistrusting than his usual self. This was Zuko, after all. The guy had been his enemy for months now.

"I know there's no excuse for what I've done, but I'm so sorry. I really wish I could take it all back. That's why I want to make it up to you. I've changed. I can help you end this war and defeat the Firelord. I can teach you to firebend." He finished, trying to sound confident.

Aang stood shocked, unsure of what to do.

"You want to teach me firebending?" Zuko nodded. Aang rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Ummmm…"

Zuko waited for him to say something else, trying to control his impatience.

"Ummm…"

"Listen, maybe you could think about this back in the real world? We kind of have to leave now if I'm going to, well, live." He finished a little exasperated.

"Oh yeah, right. I think I can get us back. We just have to find the entrance again. How did you get here?"

"I don't really remember. I just woke up in a clearing back there." He said, pointing over his shoulder.

"Oh man…" The avatar said worriedly.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, with growing unease.

"As far as I know, there's two ways to get to the spirit world without dying first: coming here on purpose by meditating, and waking up here after you've gone unconscious. It looks like we both woke up here, so…"

"Neither of us knows the way out." Zuko finished for him. "Great."

"Don't worry. We'll think of something." Aang said, always the optimist. "Besides I'm the avatar, the bridge between the two worlds. What could go wrong?"


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. But I have a plan to take it… Whoa! Who said that?

A/N: So sorry about the distance between updates, people! I will try to update more frequently, but it gets harder to write when I'm low on ideas, so please contact me if you have any! Thanks to Tosharino and Invisible Firebender (I'll get started soon on that fanfic for you) and also to all those who have alerted/ favorited, I appreciate your continued support. As always, please read and review!

It didn't take long for Zuko to realize that the avatar only had three settings: powerful avatar-state Aang, wise hundred-year-old monk Aang, and the Aang who was just a goofy kid who couldn't resist doing something ridiculous to pass the time. Aang currently favored the last of these; Zuko wasn't sure he could take another request go "ride the tigerdeer" at some island in the Earth Kingdom. The boy would not stop babbling on. Despite the fact that Zuko had just become his ally, the avatar seemed not to mind him, to excited by the prospect of having a new friend.

"Have you ever been to Whale Tale Island? Or how about Ember Island? You must know that, it's in the Firenation! One time my friend Kuzon and I, remember I told you about Kuzon-"

It wasn't that Zuko found the avatar boring, on the contrary, he found him sort of amusing the way his mind could switch gears in a heartbeat. But Zuko let himself tune out for awhile to preserve his sanity.

"So Kuzon says 'We didn't take the fruit pies, Gyatso!' and Gyatso says-"

"Let's just focus on finding the exit, okay? I think we're going in circles."

Aang's cheeks flushed with color.

"Right. Sorry."

"Maybe inside this cave…" Zuko trailed off, creeping through the tunnel's entrance.

"Ummmm…Zuko? I don't think that's such a good idea!"

Through the darkness Aang heard Zuko's muffled reply.

"This could be the way out…"

"No wait! Zuko that's-" He heard Zuko's cry of surprise, and cackling laughter.

"Koh's cave. Oh no." Aang ran into the dark, and for the second time that day, ran smack into something hard and exclaimed in pain.

"Ouch! Zuko? Is that you?"

"Aang! How do we get out of here?" Came Zuko's voice.

"Can you give me some light?" He heard nothing but the shrill, cackling laughter of Koh the face stealer approaching. Then he heard Zuko curse.

"It's not working! I can't firebend!" Aang could hear the fear in his voice.

"Oh right. No bending in the spirit world." He could hear the laughter growing closer.

"I see your faces, and they're mine!" The wicked voice called.

"Come on," Aang said. He reached out into the dark and grabbed a hold of Zuko's arm. He pulled him in what he hoped was the direction they came from until he could see light growing from the mouth of the cave. The two stumbled out; Aang fell to his knees panting with relief, Zuko beside him.

"Thanks…I owe you one." Panted Zuko. Aang looked at him, but when he did his eyes widened and he gasped. Zuko noticed the boy staring at him, something he had never been able to tolerate, and he said gruffly,

"What?"

"Zuko…your…blue."

"What? Aang, what are you talking about?"

"Zuko, this is bad. You're turning blue and transparent, like the spirits."

"I'm…dead?" He said, eyes widening with panic.

"Not yet, I don' t think, but almost."

"How much longer do we have to get out?"

"Minutes."

Zuko straightened up, trying to keep a brave face. He said quietly to himself,

"Never give up without a fight."


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender in the physical world, but in the spirit world however…

A/N: Yikes! I have not updated this in a very long time! Apologies to all of you who still enjoy this, I have been rather disheartened about my writing lately, and so I have been slacking off. Thanks to all of you who reviewed/favorited/alerted. I would really appreciate some more ideas about where to go with this story, so if you have any, let me know. Thanks! As always, please read and review!

Night had fallen. The moon had risen full and bright above the world. But it offered no comfort tonight. Katara, Sokka, and Toph were all crowded around the limp form of Zuko, worried expressions on each of their faces.

"What's wrong with him?" Said Toph, trying not to sound as panicked as she felt.

"His arm is burned." Said Katara. "He mentioned it earlier but I didn't really think about it."

"Well, you're the healer, do something!" Said Sokka, not bothering at all to hide his panic. He still felt guilty about what had happened. Sokka wouldn't let the firebender die on his account.

"Okay, okay." Said Katara in frustration. She bended water from her pouch around her hands, and placed them on his right arm which carried the burn. The glowing energy worked its way through his muscles and bones, exacting the damage. After a few minutes, Katara pulled her hands back and frowned.

"It's not working." She said quietly.

"What do we do?" Said Toph. Sokka would never have imagined Toph could sound scared, but she did.

"I don't know." Katara said breathlessly. Sokka leaned down over the firebender and prodded at his ribs.

"Sokka, stop that! It's not going to wake him up." Katara said, a bit harsher than she intended. Sokka seemed unfazed and continued, frowning. He stroked his imaginary beard, as if an idea was forming.

"Katara…" He said slowly. "Could that lightening bolt have blocked his flow of blood…?"

"What do you mean? It don't think that's-"

"Think about it, Katara. Maybe that's why he passed out, it's not circulating right." Sokka suggested.

"Well even if that's the case, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it. I did all I could with the water, but it's not like I can bend blood or anything…"

Toph looked up suddenly. An idea was forming in the young girl's head.

"Why not? It has water in it. You could just bend the blood directly and get it flowing again. Sparky will be better before dinnertime."

"I guess it's worth a try." Katara said uncertainly. She placed her hands back on Zuko's arm. Katara closed her eyes and put all her effort into the healing. It had to work. She concentrated and tried to feel the water within his body. She had to be one with the water; she had to feel the push and pull…

"I can feel it! I'm really bending it!"

Zuko staggered alongside Aang, looking desperately for the entrance back into the physical world. The avatar glanced at him nervously and said,

"Zuko…What if we don't make it back in time?"

"We will."

"Yeah, but just in case…"

Zuko slowed his pace and said lowly,

"If I die," He stumbled over the word. "tell my uncle…tell him I'm sorry. For everything."

Aang nodded, keeping his confusion to himself. Zuko was fading fast; already Aang could see straight through his arms and legs, and that transparency was spreading rapidly through the rest of him. Zuko caught his gaze and looked down at himself once again. He looked back to Aang.

"Isn't there anyone here who can help us?" Zuko questioned, panic flaring in his eyes

"I tried calling my past lives to me, but it didn't work. I think they want us to figure this out on our own, Zuko." Aang said. It was in that moment that Aang suddenly realized something: He had found familiar surroundings.

"Zuko! I think I know where we are! We're close to the exit! Quick, look around for an old white monkey meditating!"

"What?" Zuko asked, turning to look at Aang as if he was insane.

"The monkey spirit! Hurry!"

They split in different directions, searching the area with all speed. Then Aang spotted the spirit, close by in a circle of trees. He sat on his alter, meditating as always.

"Zuko! Come on, it's over here!" Aang yelled over his shoulder. His voice faltered, however, when Zuko appeared beside him, his golden eyes and scar the only substantial part of him left. This gave Aang a renewed strength. They had to leave now.

"Run!"

Aang remembered. Before, he had come in directly between those two trees, if only they could make it there-

Ten steps away.

Zuko's scar had faded completely to blue.

Five steps.

His left eye.

Two steps.

The white of his right eye.

One step away…

"Sokka! Sokka, it worked, he's waking up!" Katara exclaimed.

"I knew you could do it!" Sokka replied. Though he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Zuko looked up, blearily, not yet taking in his surroundings. At the same time, Aang sat up with a groan, clutching his head and asking,

"Katara…?"

"Aang!" She ran to him and gave him a tight hug. "Aang, you won't believe what happened!"

"Yeah, well you might not believe what happened to me and Zuko either." He sat lazily for a beat before horror configured his face. "Zuko! Is he okay? What happened?"

Aang rushed over, along with Katara, to the firebender's side.

"What…?" He asked, confused at where he was, and why the others were suddenly standing over him. He knew had been running before…

Sokka answered the confused look on his face.

"Katara invented some new kind of water magic to save your life."

"Oh…" So he had made it back. He remembered his debt to the waterbender and quickly added, "Thank you, Katara."

She smiled briefly at him, then it was gone. Though it still surprised Zuko.

"But Katara, how did you do it?" Aang asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't really know myself. I just focused on the water inside his blood and tried to shift it. Actually, it was Toph and Sokka who worked it out."

Okay, that surprised Zuko even more.

"But what happened to you guys?" Asked Katara.

Aang exchanged a look with Zuko.

"Aaaaa….We can talk about that later. We should really all get some sleep." Said Aang calmly.

Zuko breathed a little easier and felt his eyelids drooping. It was strange; he found himself thinking of his uncle. As the old man had said,

"A man needs his rest."

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the references to the Avatar season three finale.


	18. NoteClosure

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read this story, reviewed it/favorited it/or alerted it. I am so appreciative. I am putting this story on hold- perhaps indefinitely- due to a lack of ideas for direction. If anything sparks up in my head or someone suddenly comes up with something they're dying to see, I will certainly due my best to continue it. But if that is not the case, I hope you enjoyed "The Danger of Pride."


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